Mom's Rising is again making very well the case for paid parental/family leave (see below) but as usual only targets politicians. Why not targeting CEOs who can change their practices right away, right now, without a law, if they feel enough heat from the public? Microsoft is Momsrising neighbor in Bellevue. Why turning a blind eye on their practices?
Dear Philippe,
We have a national emergency. A study released last Tuesday shows that right now in the United States 1 in 4 employed mothers are back at work just TWO WEEKS after giving birth because they don’t have access to paid family (maternity, paternity, medical) leave. [1]
One in four! Two weeks!
This is unacceptable. This is devastating for working families AND for our national economy. This is something we need to fix. In fact, study after study shows that advancing this policy is not only the right thing to do for new parents, it’s also the economically smart thing to do for businesses, taxpayers, and the economy. [2] That’s why almost ALL countries in the world have this critical policy already in place. [3] It’s time to catch up!
Every single person running to be President of the United States needs to support a national paid family leave policy.
It’s not only the right time to catch up, it’s waaaay past time: Our labor force is now 50% women for the first time in history, yet our public policies are stuck in the stone ages. Plus, as noted above, nearly every other country in the entire world has this critical policy in place.
And, let’s be real here: Two weeks of leave is not nearly enough time to recover from childbirth (if you've had a c-section you might not be able to walk up and down stairs yet) much less, enough time to establish a breastfeeding routine.
I can tell you that the only thing I was routinely doing two weeks after giving birth (and recovering from major surgery) was not sleeping and not showering.
Yet for FAR too many working families, including MomsRising member Jorddan, this lack of access to paid family leave is a reality. Jorddan shared:
“After the birth of my third child, I utilized my accumulated vacation to stay at home for ten days. After that time ran out, I had to return to work or we wouldn’t have been able to pay the basic necessities of utilities, water, rent, food, gas, etc.”
Jorddan is one of the 87% of Americans who have no paid family (maternity, paternity, medical) leave via their employer. [4] Those who do have paid leave via their employers are largely highly-paid workers (1 in 5). [5] Unsurprisingly, low wage earners are the least likely to earn paid leave (1 in 20). [6] And although the current Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows some employees to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected, unpaid leave, it only covers about 60 percent of employees. [7] Further, many people who are eligible to take FMLA can’t afford to take it, because it's unpaid. [8]
So, no wonder ¼ of all poverty spells in the United States are because of having a baby. [9]
Some people who don’t really understand the need for a national paid leave policy argue that parents should just use their sick and vacation days to finance their leave when a new child arrives. It is important to remember that between 43 and 48 million people, including 80% of low-wage workers aren’t able to earn even a single paid sick day. [10] Using sick and vacation time to create a patchwork of leave to care for a new child is frankly an unworkable solution out of reach for most working families.
Meanwhile it is very clear that paid family leave doesn’t just boost families; it’s good for the economy too. Research from the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers shows that women who are able to take paid leave are less likely to rely on public assistance, more likely to be back to work 9-12 months after taking leave, and more likely to have wage increases within a year of returning to work. [11]
Study author Linda Houser notes: “While we have known for a long time about the maternal and infant health benefits of leave policies, we can now link paid family leave to greater labor force attachment and increased wages for women as well as to reduced spending by businesses in the form of employee replacement costs, and by governments in the form of public assistance.” [12]
Other studies show that paid leave improves employee retention and lowers employers' turnover costs, increases worker productivity, improves employee loyalty and morale, allows smaller businesses to compete with larger companies for the best talent, and heightens American businesses’ competitiveness in a global economy. [13]
Paid family leave has made the news lot lately. In the last few weeks, major companies like Netflix and Microsoft announced expanded paid leave policies for some of their employees.
Obviously, they’re catching up with what we’ve known for a while now: Access to paid family leave is good for businesses’ bottom lines. However, a patchwork system where only a handful of companies enable some but not all employees (Netflix’s new policy currently leaves out the low wage workers in the DVD division) to earn paid family and medical leave just won't cut it. [14]
Simply put, patchwork coverage isn't enough to make the United States a place where both businesses and families thrive.
Whether it’s to care for a newborn you swear already smiles, a mom who is ill, or a spouse battling cancer, being there for family is what matters. You shouldn't have to give up a paycheck to do it.
** Share this with family and friends by posting the action link on Twitter, on Facebook, and by forwarding this email around to anyone who cares (or might care) about boosting paid family leave!
Together we're a powerful force for women and families.
- Ruth, Kristin, Sara, Ashley and the whole MomsRising.org team
P.S. In addition to paid family leave, parents also need safe, enriching care for their kids so they can work; and kids need high quality programs so they start and finish strong in life. But, in the past 30 years, childcare costs for working families have increased by 70%. With the high cost of childcare, we’re racing to tell elected leaders that there is no time to waste for parents who are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of care, which already costs more than college in most states in our nation. You can take action and get involved here.
[1] In These Times: The Real War on Families
[2] National Partnership for Women and Families: Paid Family and Medical Leave – Good for Business
[3] International Labor Organization: Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and Practice Across the World
[4] Bureau of Labor Statistics Table 32. Leave benefits: Access, civilian workers, National Compensation Survey, March 2014
[5] In These Times: The Real War on Families
[6] ibid
[7] Department of Labor: Family and Medical Leave Benefits
[8] Bureau of Labor Statistics Press Release: Employment Characteristics of Families 2009, May 2010
[10] IWPR and National Partnership for Women & Children: Workers’ Access to Paid Sick Days in the States
[11] Linda Houser, PhD “Pay Matters: The Positive Economic Impacts of Paid Family Leave for Families, Businesses and the Public,” A Report for the Center for Women and Work, January 2012
[12] ibid
[13] National Partnership for Women and Families: Paid Family and Medical Leave – Good for Business
[14] NPR: Netflix still facing questions over its new parental leave policy
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